Bound
by Kitsune Hanyou
Summary: Inu-Yasha has a bad feeling and runs to Kagome's time, only to find that she has met the same fate he had, 50 years ago.


A/N: Wowies! A new fic! Yay! It's just a one-shot, unless enough people review and say, "More, MORE! WE NEED MORE!" In which case, I will come up with something. I don't know what, but something. Please enjoy the wonderful angst-y-ness!  
  
Bound  
  
Why did she always leave?! Damn her! She had no right to leave!  
  
Bitch.  
  
Inu-Yasha ran through the forest and jumped into the God-tree.  
  
Test! What were tests?! What was school?  
  
No...that wasn't why she left. She wouldn't constantly leave for something that she hated to do. She had said herself that she hated tests. Inu- Yasha had figured it out long ago.  
  
Her time had men in it...why else would she leave? There were men there who would treat her with kindness, comfort her when she was crying, tell her that she was beautiful...not tell her that she was only a shard detector, and definitely NOT compare her to Kikyo.  
  
Kikyo...  
  
Kikyo was dead. He knew it. He even knew that Kikyo had tried to kill Kagome when she stole the shards. He *knew* that!  
  
Kikyo was dead, but he still had a promise to keep. He would avenge Kikyo's death.  
  
Nothing more.  
  
Why did they all think that he still loved Kikyo?! She was *dead*! And he had Kagome!  
  
When those vines had shown them their worst nightmares, he had seen Kikyo, yes; but Kagome...that was his worst fear.  
  
Didn't she understand that?! Couldn't she see he wanted to protect her?!  
  
How could he protect her if he wasn't at her side?!  
  
No. She didn't understand. She *couldn't* understand. If she did, why would she always leave?  
  
He should have let her stay with Kouga. That damn wimpy wolf. At least she would have someone to protect her at all times. Someone who wasn't afraid to actually tell her how they felt.  
  
He couldn't let anyone know how he felt. Not before Naraku was killed. If anyone knew how much he loved Kagome, if any demon at all found out he had such a weakness...they'd kill her. It would be worse then having them find out about the new moon. Sesshoumaru wouldn't think twice about it. Hurting or even just threatening Kagome would easily send the hanyou into a panic. He would gladly give up the Tetsusaiga to save her.  
  
And Naraku...oh, Naraku. Inu-Yasha would rather have his stupid half- brother know then Naraku. Naraku had already shattered his heart by pretending to be him, and killing Kikyo. If Naraku ever *did* do anything to Kagome, Inu-Yasha didn't know what he would do.  
  
Naraku had already had hurt the only other friends Inu-Yasha had. The 'hell-hole' in Miroku's hand was widening everyday. Inu-Yasha could smell the worry that the monk tried to desperately to burry. And of course, Sango. To have to watch her only living family be a puppet to Naraku; to have her little brother attack her, to kill her...it reminded him of what Naraku did to him and Kikyo.  
  
Inu-Yasha leaned back on the tree-limb he was resting on. He was tired. He would give Kagome *one* day. *One!* Then he bring her back. He couldn't protect her in her time, but he could in his.  
  
Tomorrow he would retrieve her.  
  
He settled himself on his branch and closed his eyes. 'Tomorrow,' he thought.  
  
All of a sudden, he felt a pang of worry churn in his stomach.  
  
He shrugged it off. What was there to worry about? He didn't sense any demons; Miroku and Sango were keeping Shippo busy, if he wasn't asleep already-what could be wrong?  
  
He felt it again. He heart was trying to warn him about something...but what?  
  
Kagome...  
  
His mind flashed with an image of her screaming in pain...  
  
He snapped to his feet. Kagome was save in her time. There weren't any demons in her time! Demons couldn't go through the well!  
  
Adrenaline coursed through his veins. He had to make sure she was all right!  
  
In a flash, he was down the well and jumping up into the well-house. He was instantly flooded with relief. He didn't sense any demons or smell any blood...she was safe. Why had he been so worried?! Kagome wasn't as weak as he always said she was. Besides, she knew her time better then he did, she could handle almost anything.  
  
Suddenly, the rosary beads around his neck lurched, causing him to fall to his knees. But only to his knees. He looked around; he hadn't heard Kagome yell that stupid word. And he didn't fall flat on his face. What was going on?  
  
The beads started to fall one by one.***  
  
"What the-" Inu-Yasha said out loud.  
  
Why would the rosary break?  
  
What would make them-"  
  
'Hold on,' he thought. Why should he care?! The rosary was gone! 'Let's see her leave without my permission now!'  
  
A sly grin formed on the hanyou's face. He rushed out of the well-house as fast as he could, inpatient to show Kagome his newly acquired freedom.  
  
A new scent hit him...the air smelled funny...like death...like soil...  
  
...Like Kikyo...  
  
No, he shook that thought away. Kikyo was stuck in his time, far away, where she could never hurt Kagome. That was one of the very few things that Inu-Yasha thought was a good reason to let Kagome go home. In her time, she couldn't be killed.  
  
Something was wrong though. His demon senses were screaming at him. He looked around; there shouldn't be any danger here. He stared in the direction of the God-tree. An eerie purple light shone from it. He ran to it.  
  
A figure was standing there, perfectly still, but it was covered in shadow. He sniffed. It smelled like blood...human blood-KAGOME'S BLOOD!  
  
He jumped to where he could see the figure's face. "Kagome?!" he rasped. She looked so peaceful, like she was sleeping. He let his eyes travel down, to her neck, her shoulders...an arrow stuck out of her heart.  
  
Inu-Yasha felt his own heart stop. His clawed hands started to tremble as he reached up to touch her cheek, to see if this figure was real.  
  
She was.  
  
"Kagome!!!" He screamed in guilty rage as he wrapped his fingers around the blood-drenched arrow. Kagome's hands were stained red, as if she had tried to pull the arrow out herself.  
  
"I wouldn't pull it out if I were you," Kikyo's heartless, cold, voice spoke.  
  
Inu-Yasha froze at the malice-laced words. "Kikyo," he whispered, a new wave of guilt flowing into him.  
  
She smiled, "Actually, *I* would." She laughed, "Yes, Inu-Yasha. Kill her with your own hands! Then come with me, to hell, like you promised!"  
  
He released the arrow as fast as if it had just burned him. His fingers were lightly splattered with Kagome's blood. He tried to resist the terrible urge he was feeling to cry. "Why?!"  
  
Kikyo laughed, "Human's don't heal the way demons do. You pull out that arrow, she will die."  
  
"That isn't what I meant! How dare you, Kikyo?! How dare you?!" He screamed. Kagome's heart had stopped already, he couldn't hear it; she wasn't breathing either. She hadn't been breathing when he arrived.  
  
Kikyo unconsciously took a step back. "She is gone now, Inu-Yasha. You don't have to think about her anymore." She walked up to the hanyou and put her hand on his cheek. "She will no longer cloud your mind."  
  
Inu-Yasha became furious. He slapped the hand away and shoved her to the ground. "Stay away from me! Break the spell!" His voice became frantic, "Break the god-*damn* spell!"  
  
Kikyo looked up at him with uncharacteristic fear. "Come with me Inu- Yasha. Leave this place. Stay with me. Come with me, to hell."  
  
He couldn't control himself anymore. He ripped Tetsusaiga from its sheath. He swung down, aimed perfectly for Kikyo.  
  
"Inu-Yasha!" Kikyo screamed.  
  
He stopped just before it struck. He couldn't kill her. It didn't matter how much he wanted to hurt her for causing Kagome pain.  
  
He dropped his sword, "Get out of here, Kikyo. Leave, because the next time I see you, I will kill you. I don't owe you anything anymore. When you killed Kagome, you lost every claim you had on me."  
  
"Inu-Yasha-"  
  
"Leave!" He barked. Kikyo ran for the well.  
  
When he knew she was gone, Inu-Yasha broke down. He fell to his knees. He couldn't speak, he couldn't think. For a long while he just knelt there and cried, harder then he had ever before.  
  
When his thoughts finally returned, there were only a select few. Why had this happened to her? Why like this?! Why couldn't he have protected her?!  
  
He looked up at the beautiful face of the woman he loved. Yes, he loved her. Why hadn't he ever told her?! "Kagome," he whispered and got to his feet. He again wrapped his clawed fingers around the arrow. "I couldn't protect you...I'm sorry! I'm sorry! You weren't supposed to die!" He pulled the arrow out quickly. Kagome's body fell limply into his open arms. She was so cold, it made Inu-Yasha shiver. A person wasn't supposed to be cold! "Damn it, wench!" He screamed, "You can't die!"  
  
He fell to his knees again, the girl cradled in his arms. 'Kaede,' he thought. 'If I can get Kagome to Kaede, she can break the spell!' He knew there had to be a way!  
  
"Hold on, Kagome!"  
  
He ran back to the well-house. His rosary beads lie forgotten on the ground. He jumped into the well and ran to Kaede's.  
  
"Kaede!" Inu-Yasha screamed, running through the doorway.  
  
"Thee does not need to shout, Inu-Yasha."  
  
"Kaede! It's Kagome! She-" he couldn't bring himself to say it. The words formed in his brain, but the right words didn't come through his mouth. "You have to break the spell!"  
  
Kaede turned and her eyes widened with shock. "What happened, Inu-Yasha?"  
  
He turned his face away. "Kikyo...she thought that if she killed Kagome, I would go to hell with her. I won't. So break the spell she put on Kagome!"  
  
Kaede checked the girl over, and shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, Inu- Yasha. She is dead. Her soul had already left her body. No matter what you do, she will not come back to life."  
  
Inu-Yasha growled at the old miko. "It's a spell! Damn it! Help her!"  
  
"I'm sorry, Inu-Yasha. I know how you cared for her; but she is gone."  
  
"No!" He shook his head wildly. "If you won't help her, Miroku will!"  
  
He fled the house, Kaede still yelling at him to return. He quickly picked up Miroku's scent and followed it to a small clearing.  
  
Miroku, Sango, and Shippo were there around a fire, talking about their quest.  
  
"I don't think we should have left Inu-Yasha behind." Shippo said.  
  
"You know how he is." Miroku said, "If we told him a shard was close, he would try to drag Lady Kagome back sooner then he promised."  
  
"Miroku!" Inu-Yasha yelled.  
  
Miroku sighed, "What, Inu-Yasha? Don't tell me that you are-*Lady Kagome?!*"  
  
Sango had to grab Shippo before he tried to tackle the hanyou. "What did you do to Kagome?!" The tiny kitsune screamed.  
  
"Miroku," Inu-Yasha said, trying to blink away tears, "Please help her."  
  
Miroku rushed to his side, "What happened to her?"  
  
"Kikyo shot her. Please, break the spell."  
  
Miroku checked her injuries and looked away. "Inu-Yasha...she, she is dead."  
  
Shippo started to wail loudly, and Sango quietly hugged him as tears slid down her own cheeks.  
  
"No!" Inu-Yasha yelled. "It's a spell!" He started crying, and fell to his knees, "It's a spell. She can't die. I couldn't have let her die! Kagome! You can't leave me! Kagome...please. I...I don't want to be alone again. I need you. Kagome, I need you!"  
  
"Inu-Yasha, "Miroku walked over to the crying hanyou. "Please, we must give her body a proper burial. You must tell her family; you are the only one who can."  
  
"No," Inu-Yasha protested weakly. "She can't be...*I* was protecting her. She shouldn't have been hurt. I was supposed to keep her safe!"  
  
"Inu-Yasha?" Shippo said quietly. "You always did all you could. You protected her as best as you could. You aren't alone-"  
  
"Shut up, Shippo." Inu-Yasha said. "I...I need to be alone." He ran so fast, it would put Koga to shame. When he believed he was far enough away, he jumped into a tree, and started crying again. "Kagome!" He screamed her name until his throat was raw. She couldn't be gone.  
  
Why?  
  
Why?!  
  
Why did every single person he love, die?!  
  
First, his mother.  
  
Then, Kikyo  
  
Now, Kagome?  
  
He squeezed his hands into fists so hard, his claws drew blood from his palms.  
  
He leaned back against the tree and cried himself to sleep.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Inu-Yasha woke with a start, tears still falling from his eyes. He had nearly fallen out of his tree when he woke. He looked around at his surroundings. Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kirara were to the left of him, close to the fire.  
  
His heart started ach. "Kagome," he whispered. Another tear slid down his eye.  
  
"Hmn-Inu-Yasha."  
  
Inu-Yasha looked down; Kagome was in her sleeping bag!  
  
He jumped down and got as close as he dared. It had been a dream! It was only a nightmare!  
  
He had to force himself to resist the strong urge he had to hold her. She was so beautiful.  
  
"Inu-" she whispered, she was dreaming.  
  
That made the hanyou smile; she was dreaming of him.  
  
"...Help me..." she continued, "please."  
  
He stroked her cheek, "Shh, Kagome, I'm here. I won't let anyone hurt you."  
  
"Naraku, don't. Inu-Inu-Yasha."  
  
'Naraku,' Inu-Yasha thought, 'Kagome, please don't dream about him.' He lifted her gently into his arms. "Calm down, Kagome," he hugged her, "I won't let anyone hurt you again; I promise. I couldn't bear to see you hurt. You don't have to worry. I'll protect you."  
  
Kagome snuggled closer to him, her nightmare ended happily.  
  
A/N: SO? Tell me what you think! Please review! Bowdees!  
  
***In the series, Kaede floats the rosary in front of her, and the beads appear around Inu-Yasha's neck one at a time. 


End file.
